Online courses directory (19947)

This course is a general overview of the recent political science literature on violent non-state actors. Its aim is to examine why non-state actors (such as warlords, terrorists, militias, etc.) resort to violence, what means and tactics they use, and what can be done to counter that violence. In that regard, the class will cover works pertaining to the production side of non-state violence (i.e. the objectives and organization of insurgents/terrorists/militias/warlords, their mobilization strategies and support base, how they coerce opponents, etc.); as well as the response that violence elicits from governments or other actors (i.e. counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism strategies, among others). Apart from introducing the basic variables and theoretical and empirical findings in the literature, this course will also grapple with questions of definition, operationalization of variables, and general methodology relevant to conducting research in this area of violent conflict. Though thematically-driven, this course will also reference cases from the contemporary battlefields of insurgency and terrorism (be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the West Bank and Gaza, Colombia, etc.) as they relate to the pertinent themes.

This course provides students with a broad historical and social-scientific introduction to a central aspect of modern economic life: Finance. By drawing upon a variety of disciplinary perspectives from the humanities and social sciences, the course offers a multi-dimentional picture of finance, not only as an economic phenomenon, but as a political, cultural, intellectual, material, and technological one. The course offers an introduction to foundational financial concepts and technologies, and will help students understand finance as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. This course also provides students with the opportunity to improve skills in written communication, and to learn tools for historical analysis and textual interpretation.

Humanitarian Demining is the process of detecting, removing and disposing of landmines. Millions of landmines are buried in more than 80 countries resulting in more than 10,000 civilian victims every year. MIT Design for Demining is a design course that spans the entire product design and development process from identification of needs and idea generation to prototyping and blast testing to manufacture and deployment. Technical, business and customer aspects are addressed. Students learn about demining while they design, develop and deliver devices to aid the demining community. Past students have invented or improved hand tools, protective gear, safety equipment, educational graphics and teaching materials. Some tools designed in previous years are in use worldwide in the thousands. Course work is informed by a class field trip to a U.S. Army base for demining training and guest expert speakers.

This course immerses students in the process of building and testing their own digital and board games in order to better understand how we learn from games. We explore the design and use of games in the classroom in addition to research and development issues associated with computer–based (desktop and handheld) and non–computer–based media. In developing their own games, students examine what and how people learn from them (including field testing of products), as well as how games can be implemented in educational settings.

This is the final course in the three-course sequence (11.129, 11.130 and 11.131) that deals with the practicalities of teaching students. Areas of study will include: educational psychology, identification of useful resources that support instruction, learning to use technology in meaningful ways in the classroom, finding more methods of motivating students, implementing differentiated instruction and obtaining a teaching job.

This course investigates social conflict and distributional disputes in the public sector. While theoretical aspects of conflict are considered, the focus of the class is on the practice of dispute resolution. Comparisons between unassisted and assisted negotiation are reviewed along with the techniques of facilitation and mediation.

This English course looks at the life and work of William Shakespeare, surely the greatest playwright of them all. The course considers his life, plays, poetry and prose and examines the literary devices he employed in his works. The lessons are interspersed with quotes from some of Shakespeare's most famous plays and videos of actors reciting his lines and sonnets. Completing this free online course will lead to improved understanding of the Bard, and deepen your enjoyment of his timeless work. This course is especially useful for students studying Shakespeare.

<p>ALISON’S "Introduction to Accounting" offers a comprehensive guide to Financial Accounting. This free online course explains accounting principles and concepts, and how to prepare and analyse financial accounts. It also examines ratio analysis, working capital, cash and finance, business analysis, and business risk. </p><br /> <p>It is a useful tool for those studying accounting, people working within financial operations of companies, and anyone who wishes to learn more about finance and accounting in general. </p>

Everyone knows that when you identify stocks that you believe are going to increase in price you buy them. But how can you profit from stocks that you believe will decline in price? The answer is shorting. Shorting enables you to sell stock that you do not own and buy it back at a later time, ideally at a lower price. In this free online course you will learn more about stocks and shares and how they are valued. You will then learn about the process of short selling, how to borrow stocks that you do not own, what obligations you have to original owner of the stocks, and how to cover your short where you return the stocks after buying them back, hopefully, for less than the cost when you sold them. This course will be of interest to professionals in the financial services sector and anyone who wishes to understand stocks and what the process of short selling involves. Please note that while this free course will teach you about making investments in stocks in general, it does not advocate that you should buy stocks or invest in the stock market, and that any investment made in the stock market may lose money. <br />

Online presentations are becoming more popular as a means of teaching and training both for the teacher delivering the material and for students who may be in different geographic locations. VoiceThread is an application for publishing online multimedia presentations and allows students and colleagues navigate through the slide show and leave comments using voice, text, audio file or video using a webcam. This free online course about VoiceThread will take you through the Web application, from setting up a presentation through to the sharing of content. You will learn how to add various types of objects, pictures, videos, etc., set up their titles, descriptions and links. With these elements in place you will then learn how students can leave feedback and comments about the presentation as well as draw on the images for emphasis. VoiceThread account management tasks are also clearly explained, such as how to access a presentation to edit and share it. This free online course will be of great interest to teachers and trainers who want to use the power of the Web to make presentations to students in different locations and receive feedback and comments from these students.<br />

Cell physiology is the branch of science that studies the structure and function of individual cells. Our increasing knowledge and understanding of cellular mechanisms and processes have led to great advances in all areas of biology and medicine. In this free online physiology course you will be introduced to the main topics in cell physiology such as the major components of a typical animal cell. You will learn about the mechanisms behind cell growth and multiplication, about the movement of substances into and out of cells, how energy is processed within the cell, and how and why cells maintain an electrical charge across their membranes called membrane potentials. This free online cell physiology course will be of great interest to all healthcare professionals who would like to learn more about the structure and function of cells, and to all students of biology and medicine who would like a greater knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in cell physiology.<br />

The physics of the universe appears to be dominated by the effects of four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear forces, and strong nuclear forces.  These forces control how matter, energy, space, and time interact to produce our physical world.  All other forces, such as the force you exert in standing up, are ultimately derived from these fundamental forces. We have direct daily experience with two of these forces: gravity and electromagnetism.  Consider, for example, the everyday sight of a person sitting on a chair.  The force holding the person on the chair is gravitational, and that gravitational force balances with material forces that “push up” to keep the individual in place.  These forces are the direct result of electromagnetic forces on the nanoscale.  On a larger stage, gravity holds the celestial bodies in their orbits, while we see the universe by the electromagnetic radiation (light, for example) with which it is filled.  The electromagnetic force also makes…

The purpose of this course is to provide you with a basic understanding of the principles of microeconomics.  At its core, the study of economics deals with the choices and decisions that have to be made in order to manage scarce resources available to us. Microeconomics is the branch of economics that pertains to decisions made at the individual level, i.e. by individual consumers or individual firms, after evaluating resources, costs, and tradeoffs.  When we talk about “the economy,” then, we are referring to the marketplace or system in which these choices interact with one another.  In this course, we will learn how and why these decisions are made and how they affect one another in the economy. Each of the following units has been designed as a building block, where the concepts you learn in one unit will enable you to understand the material you discover in the next.  By the end of this course, you will have a strong grasp on the major issues that face microeconomists, including consumer and p…

A Fun & Informative Alternative To The Digital Camera Manual: What You Need To Know To Take Better Photographs

Tips, Tricks & Practical applications for creating multiple streams of income from more residual income opportunities.

While taking time away from her day job on bed rest, Cuil Co-founder Anna Patterson eventually found herself volunteerin

Six Tips to Easily Network With LinkedIn to Increase Your Income. Includes 30 minutes of support from the instructor

The Bootstrap Method For Quickly Building Your Most Valuable Asset

Interested in shedding some extra pounds? This Yoga for Weight Loss class package is your answer!

Learn to relax your mind and body with informative lectures and relaxation exercises.